Long Weekend

source: Long Weekend

Long Weekend

Most of the people who visit IMDb will have some childhood memories about a movie they saw ones on television. When you'r young, most of the time you only remember the images. At the age of 35 I certainly remember The Long Weekend. Maybe it was my age... but in my memory it was spooky and had a very surprising and sudden ending. I always wondered what the title of the movie was. Thanks to the internet I know it was this one. I recently bought the DVD and watched it again. A little bit disappointing.. but I am glad I watched it again. Rob The Netherlands

It's "Deliverance" meets "Blair Witch" meets "When Bunyips Attack!" (err...or don't attack!) in this expertly filmed bizarre Australian chiller. Peter and Marcia are a young couple going through some unexplained turmoil. They decide to take a holiday on the beach in an isolated woodsy area. They go about, generally Making a Scene, and have about as little respect for their surroundings as they seem to have for each other. The lack of communication between the two and a little bit of enviro-karma leads them to a nightmare holiday that they never anticipated. "Long Weekend" is one of those movies I wasn't sure what to make of when it finished, but was haunted by it in retrospect and inspired to view multiple times. It is loaded with symbolic imagery and subtle hints of the supernatural that truly get under your skin. It gets bonus points for featuring a beached "bunyip" as one of many ominous antagonists! Creeeepy!

Little known, but excellent nature-strikes-back thriller from Australia is simply one of the best of its genre! Troubled married couple retreat to coastal wilderness only to anger the local wildlife and end up fighting for their lives. Intelligent and well-made thriller manages to be nicely straight-faced, unlike most of its kind. With a haunting story and some wonderful direction by Eggleston, Long Weekend stands out from most of the 'nature on the rampage' films that were so popular in the '70's. The film possesses some moments of sheerly spooky psychological terror as well. While the cinematography and filming locations are stunningly beautiful. The music score is nicely moody and appropriate. One true highlight of the film are its wonderful stars! The attractive John Hargreaves and Briony Behets do some top notch performances! All around, Long Weekend is truly above-average and a must see for thriller fans. *** 1/2 out of ****

Brilliant film, eerie and atmospheric. Stays on your mind for a long time after watching. One of my favourites. The part where the sea creature wails like a baby is especially good. The image of the eagle egg being smashed against the tree kept coming back and haunting me long after the film had finished. A lot of weird happenings in the film - what happened to the people in the other camper van? You never actually got to see them, just their vicious little dog! This is a film I could happily watch over and over without getting fed up. I would love to be able to get this video either on video or DVD but it seems it's been withdrawn. Can anyone help me get a hold of this video or DVD? I would be grateful to hear from anyone else who likes this movie too.

LONG WEEKEND might not be for everyone - it is slow and subtle and the two leads are suffering from a tragedy and full of self-pity and complaints and I can see how their bickering could get on a viewer's nerves. But if you STAY WITH THIS film - it pays off. It is because of the slow pace of this film that everything builds perfectly - long a slow boiling pot - bit by bit - as they abuse each other and the natural surroundings around them - and shoot at animals and throw trash in the ocean and basically act like many humans in nature - "I am here and screw everything else" - it all comes to a head and punches you in the face. John Hargreaves is a very underrated Australian actor - he worked a lot in the 70's and 80's (Phar Lap, Beyond A Reasonable Doubt, etc.) and sadly died rather young - but he gives a terrific performance playing a rather despicable guy - and if he does not look like a blond Aussie Clive Owen - then I don't know who does.

"Long Weekend" is a well-done, environmentally-conscious horror film from Down Under. The plot is rather simple, but makes a point: when you snooty urban dwellers go camping for the weekend, don't do anything to p**s off Mother Nature! Which is exactly what our two selfish, unappealing protagonists do; they also have a marriage that's on the rocks (gee, I wonder if they'll make it through the weekend alive? Any takers?). The acting is good (though the characters are hateful and stupid), and the emotional intensity is complemented by a very brooding atmosphere of impending horror (the night scenes will give you the willies) as Nature gears up for revenge. 6/10

(Excuse the possible vocabulary or grammar mistakes, I am French) The originality - and the force - of "Long week-end" is that it is an animal attack film... without animal attack. The two characters of the film commit a succession of little aggressions towards the Nature (with a great N), which will revenge herself, but never directly. Mentioning examples would reveal too much of the film. I will only say it is a real ambient movie, without action, but which distils a traumatic veiled anguish. The final is particularly perturbing and ironical. The term "unknown masterpiece" seems to be created for this film !

...when I first saw THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, I kept thinking that I'd seen this basic idea before, and this was where it was. The basic setup is different -- this time it's a married couple who take their bickering into a camping weekend -- but the effect is identical, with supernatural forces terrorising them for daring to trespass onto the wrong territory. The suspense is a slow build, and there's even some touches that popped up in later flicks; for instance, the idea for the shot of the scorpion being run over by a truck in close-up during the opening title sequence of NATURAL BORN KILLERS was taken directly from this one. Part of the first major wave of Australian pictures that made a big splash in the States circa '79 and '80 -- among the others were GALLIPOLI, BREAKER MORANT and THE LAST WAVE -- LONG WEEKEND is, unfortunately, one of the forgotten gems of the period. If you ever see an old video of it in a shop somewhere -- anywhere -- grab it. And watch it...